Speaking/Workshops

Profiting from the 100 Mile Diet

For decades we’ve had inexpensive consistent supplies of food. Now the food is shipped from thousands of miles, often from different continents (like China) and handled by a number of people. The more times any thing is handled the greater the cost and the higher chance of contamination. Food quality and safety standards are not in place for most imported food and products.

With high Canadian food standards, it makes sense to buy food as close to home as possible. Volatile trade agreements and shortages affect us directly, but we have little control over global policies and agribusiness based food prices.

We can start at home and decide what we want to eat. Starting at the local level, start setting up community based food systems with local producers. This provides a direct link and contact between consumer and the food supply and is controlled by the people locally.

• How do you plan and develop a community based food supply?
• How will this food be produced (organically, conventionally?) harvested, transported and distributed?
• How can you save money and have the best food?
• How can you find varieties of plants that grow well in your region?
• How does this relate to food security?

Come prepared to look at your personal food needs and:

1. Discuss strategies to ensure that food you need can be supplied locally.
2. Ensure that the risk of production is spread out between farmer and consumer.
3. Connect to other local and regional organizations involved in food production to share surpluses.
4. Examine the opportunities to immediately get local food.